UPMC Opens $250M Hospital Near Site of Controversial Hospital Closure

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is opening a new $250 million hospital in Monroeville, Pa., according to an Essential Public Radio report.

The 156-bed UPMC East hospital is designed to improve access to UPMC services for patients outside Pittsburgh and to provide relief for UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh, which often reaches capacity, according to the report.

The new hospital is six miles away from Braddock, Pa., where UPMC closed a hospital in 2010 despite residents' protests. While UPMC said the hospital was underutilized and losing money, state records have indicated otherwise, according to the report. Braddock community leaders are expected to protest the opening of UPMC East.